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God Will NOT Acquit the Wicked

—Our weekly article in the Northport Gazette

Watering the Tulips

3/30/2011

“The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked.” – Nahum 1:3

The verse before us today is a truth that is rarely taught today. God is Holy and He must punish sin. God is righteous; therefore, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. The average person today has no fear of God (Romans 3:18). Many have the idea that the God of love could never be angry with an individual. Yet, Psalms 7:11 says, “God is angry with the wicked every day.” Sure, the believer is a recipient of the love of God. No doubt, “We love Him because He first loved us” (I John 4:19). As true as that is, the unbeliever falls under the condemnation of God (John 3:18).

What really is man’s problem? The problem is that God’s standard is like the plumb line He told Amos about (Amos 7:7-8). When God gives a standard, it is sure to be a holy standard. Unfortunately, man is far from that. We are not plumb!! We are a “crooked and perverse generation” at best (Philippians 2:15). We are all sinners that “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Many today have never been told they are a sinner. Oddly enough, many preachers shy away from speaking on the subject of sin. I fear many are more worried about nickels and noses than they are about the souls of those they minister to. Preachers have “dumbed down” the message so that even the lost are comfortable in church. Let it never be so!! The lost ought to be extremely uncomfortable when they sit under the preaching of God’s Word. The sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) will jab at the pride of the lost as they are told they that the absolute best they have to offer God is filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6). Pastors need to stop worrying about being “successful” and worry more about being faithful.

If God will not at all acquit the wicked and we are all sinners, what is the hope of man? If God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) and we are sinners even on our best day, what can we do? Thankfully, God was not caught off guard when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. Jesus surely is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8). God made a way of escape from our sins. He supplied a Substitute. Christ was made to be sin on behalf of the believer (II Corinthians 5:21). Just as our sin was imputed to Him, so His righteousness has been imputed to us. Praise the Lord, we are justified (declared righteous) by the work of Jesus Christ!

Child of God, thank the Lord today for the difference He has made in your life. Though the wicked will surely meet a miserable fate, we have been saved from wrath by the work of Christ. He was not a failure – He is the greatest success in mankind’s terrible history. Take our text verse to heart as you consider your friends and family. Warn them of the terror of the Lord (II Corinthians 5:11).

Watering the Tulips is brought to you by Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Northport, AL. For more information, please visit www.sovereigngrace.net. “Your app to the Gospel” is available for download in the iTunes app store and the Android market. Download it today.